The Lonely, Good Company of Books Essay

As a kid. I was ever told that reading was traveling to be in my educational life for every bit long as I was in school and as I got older it was merely traveling to acquire more complex. I ne’er rather understood why books like Shakespeare were so of import to my instruction but I was ever told it was so I ne’er questioned it. In The Lonely. Good Company of Books. I wholly agree with Rodriguez on his claim about the disjunction of immature students’ instruction and reading lists of books. A student’s instruction is based on manner more than merely reading books throughout their educational lives.

From personal experience to claims made my Rodriguez to simple facts it is clear reading is non every bit important as it’s made out to be in immature student’s lives. Rodriguez made it clear that he was emotionally disconnected from the books he read even though he continued to read more and more. Turning up as a pupil it is really difficult to associate to books that most of the clip has nil to make with what’s traveling on in one’s life. Even though that is the instance for many students’ instructors still promote reading because they feel over clip one’s mentality will alter. That’s non the instance for most students’ .

Rodriguez describes how a nun that helped him with reading would ever state. “A book could open doors for him. It could present him to people and demo him topographic points he ne’er imagined existed. ” ( 173 ) but that is an sentiment that doesn’t use to everyone that reads. Most students’ can’t get all of the benefits out of reading hence doing it non an affectional educational tool. Besides the emotional disjunction. engineering besides makes it easier for pupils to larn things visually and orally so reading won’t have to play as large of a function in a student’s instruction as it used to.

Even though reading is really of import. it’s uneffective to most students’ . Merely think. a kid is non born with a natural hatred to reading but why so. is reading such a job for so many simple and high school pupils? Many pupils feel dozenss of emphasis and anxiousness that comes out of reading which wholly takes off from the larning experience. Rodriguez negotiations about his household rather a spot in his article and described how they looked at reading as a non-pleasurable activity. Rodriguez claims. “Never did I see either of them read an full book.

Nor did I see them read for pleasance. Their reading consisted of work manuals. supplication books. newspapers. recipes…” ( 172 ) . This is a really common instance for many students’ parents and that plays a immense function on how students’ feel towards reading. Turning up. if a kid merely sees their parents. which play a really large influential function theoretical accounts. reading because they have excessively. that’s how the child’s mentality will be every bit good throughout their educational calling and life. From personal experience. turning up as a kid I had a female parent who was really much into reading all types of books.

When I was assigned books from reading lists to read my ma would non merely travel and purchase a transcript of the book. but she would read it for herself so we can discourse it when we both finished it. This encouraged me to read because I saw how much enjoyment my ma got from it and I wanted to portion that experience with her. Turning up with a family like this made me look at reading in a positive manner. but really small pupils have similar upbringings and parents that put that much accent on reading. Rodriguez besides describes his alone experience he has with reading which is really common for most pupils.

Not being able to associate to a character or plot line could be highly unpluging which leads to this alone feeling. Particularly with reading lists that are typically assigned in schools. non being able to take to read something you are interested in but something you are told you should be interested in is typically non a good experience. It’s really hard associating to these books by Shakespeare. Homer. Aristotle. and Plato which is all made out to be really of import books for a student’s acquisition experience.

Rodriguez portions. “While reading Plato’s Republic. for case. I needed to maintain looking at the book jacket remarks to remind myself what the text was approximately. Nevertheless. with particular forbearance and superstitious notion of the scholarship male child. I looked at every word of the text” ( 175 ) . Just that statement entirely shows the adversities of understanding these “important” books like students’ are expected to. If one can’t understand the context in which they are reading. the learning experience is so affected and uneffective.

From personal experience. turning up as a child I ever loved reading the small books during category like. The Cat in the Hat and Junie B. Jones. because they were entertaining and relevant to something in my life. Yes. they were simple written books but. I enjoyed what I was reading and wholly understood what I was reading which led to larning whatever lessons hidden in those books. I ne’er realized I was larning because it was such an enjoyment but. as I got older and reached the books I was told I had read to make good academically I felt similar feelings as Rodriguez.

I felt really empty and non satisfied after reading these “important” books. For many. I had to read sum-ups merely to understand them which merely played as a distraction itself. By the clip I was done reading these books and we would reexamine them in category. I realized I learned small to nil. I couldn’t retrieve anything in the books and ne’er got that carry throughing. relatable experience like I used to when I got to read what I wanted to read. Reading from thereon out felt like a load and non a learning tool.

Reading played such a negative function in my instruction because it was more confusing and nerve-racking than impacting and educational. Even now. as a pupil in college. I find myself with the same disjunction I’ve battle with since I began reading these “important books” . Many people claim reading provenders peoples’ imaginativeness. and helps trip the encephalon for larning but that’s non the instance for all people. Many people claim reading is a procedure that develops with pattern and that there are certain facets of reading. such as eloquence and word acknowledgment. which can be learned overtime.

Yes. that is all true but those rudimentss must be mastered and non every pupil has the ability to grok all of that. Students can reiterate words on a page all twenty-four hours long but if they don’t have the necessary comprehension accomplishments they will non be able to do anticipations about what will go on next. place the secret plan. acknowledge the of import characters. clear up confusing parts. decrypt the meaning/ lesson of the overall text. and most significantly connect what they are reading to their ain experience and prior cognition which one time once more. makes the reading ineffective.

Reading is a tool that will ever be used in the educational universe but. the accent on it should decidedly be evaluated. Now in 2013. there are so many fluctuations of different acquisition tools that a more affectional 1 could be put to utilize in exchange for so much reading merely so it can be affectional to the bulk of pupils and non merely a little part. Yes. reading is of import to some but. reading does non play as large of a function in a students’ instruction as many people think.